


Open Arms

by CatLady86



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-02-08 00:18:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12852645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatLady86/pseuds/CatLady86
Summary: Day Three Prompt: Noctis loves to be comforted by Gladio’s hugsWhenever Noctis finds himself down and distraught, he can always count on the comfort of Gladio's embrace to comfort him.





	Open Arms

**Author's Note:**

> Day three yea! Although I made it a bit sad. :C Thank you and enjoy.

The first time Noctis felt the strong and warm embrace of one of Gladio’s hugs, was when he was four. The toddler Prince was dragged to an impromptu meeting that cut into his and his father’s time and grew tired as it trudged on. He wanted to take a nap but couldn’t fall asleep without his stuffed animal or being held and his father was busy, plus he was unfamiliar with everyone else in attendance and refused them when they tried to pick him up. He started to whimper and rub at his eyes when another young boy steps over to him and smiles. 

“Hey, you sleepy?” the other boy asks and gets a nod from the hiccupping tot. “You want me to hold you? My mama holds me when I’m sleepy.” 

Noctis looks with apprehension at this boy, but something about him makes Noct relax and the Prince puts his arms out. Without another word, he crawls up into the chair with the tiny Prince, pulling him into his arms and hugging him tightly, rubbing his back and gently rocking him. Noctis nods off quickly, cuddled up in the coziness of this boy he has never met before but would soon find he was going to be a very special person to him. The second time he would get one of these hugs was when Noctis was ten. He had just arrived back to the Citadel from his schooling and was feeling down since the boy he had met recently was ignoring him after what had happened before. Noctis wanted to be nice and help him up after the other seemingly wanted to chat with him, but he may have hurt the boy’s feelings when he made the comment about his weight. He didn’t mean too, it just slipped out. So now he sits in his garden with an air of melancholy that he had hurt someone pressing down on him until a pair of arms wrap around him from behind.

“You doing okay? You seem out of sorts in training. Well, more than usual.”

Noctis laments his woes to the older boy, him listening quietly as he continues to embrace the Prince. Once Noct has finished speaking, Gladio hoists him up from the bench and bear hugs him tighter, not saying another word and just embracing him. Noctis nuzzles into the older boy’s neck as he wraps his arms around him, letting the rhythm of his heart beating and his warmth comfort him. The third time was when he was fifteen and he had seen the clip of his father being interviewed. Gladio had dragged him back to his home and after sparring, he broke down. He spilled his heart to his Shield, cried about not wanting to think about his father dying and all the responsibilities being dumped onto him at the same time. He’s trying to keep it together, to be strong, but the weight of it is crushing him and he’s afraid of what is to come. Gladio pulls the teen into a deep and comforting hug, rubbing his back as the younger begins to quiver before sobbing into the man’s sweatshirt.

“Hey, just remember, I’m here for you if you ever need someone.”

Noctis knows he can count on him. No matter what, Gladio will be there to hold him up and protect him. Then the fourth time comes. He’s eighteen and had gone to a local dive with the other three, having a good time when a drunk patron decided to become testy with the Prince. Noctis, of course, got up in the man’s face, not knowing he was armed, and proceeded to argue with him. Then the knife came out and everything descended into chaos. Now the teen lays curled up with his Shield on his couch, the man on his back with one arm over his trembling Prince and the other laid carefully over his face. Noctis lets out a whimper and apologizes once more, and again gets softly shushed by his Shield as the man continues to rub his back.

“It’s my job to protect you from harm, even if it means I get hurt in the process.”

Noctis knows this, but still, he doesn’t like it and feels terribly guilty for it. Gladio pulls his other arm from over his face, revealing the white bandage covering the left side, and wraps his arm around the other. The Prince begins to settle down now, listening to his favorite lullaby and being blanketed by the comfortable warmth of the man under him. The fifth time was the one he needed the most. His home and his father were gone, torn from him and destroyed by the Empire. He was disoriented, sickened, and filled with deep despair. Noct found himself lying awake each night after he learned what had happened and could barely eat either. He felt numb, cold, and alone. But then one night as he sits by the side of Haven by himself, Gladio takes a seat behind him and without a word, pulls the teen into his lap and wraps his large arms around him. The Prince doesn’t put up a fight and instead relaxes back into the man’s warmth, wrapping his own arms around the other’s and holding onto him tightly. 

“You’re not alone Noct, you have us, you have me.”

Tears trickle down Noctis’ cheeks as he turns himself into the man’s body, closing his eyes and eventually nodding off into slumber as he’s swathed in his Shield’s embrace. The sixth hug was initiated by the Prince himself. He was preparing to head into the Citadel, saying his last goodbyes to his allies. But when he gets to Gladio, he wraps his arms around the older man’s body and rests his head against his chest, taking in the man’s warmth and listening as his heart begins to beat rapidly. Large strong arms wrap around his body, pulling him in tighter and calming his nerves so he can go on to complete his destiny.

“Thank you, Gladio, for always being there with open arms when I needed you the most.”


End file.
